What are Tree Trimming and Stump Grinding?

If you own any sort of commercial, residential, investment or rental property with trees on it, tree trimming and stump grinding are two services you may need to take advantage of sooner or later. 

Benefits of Tree Trimming

Tree trimming is the pruning and cutting of trees and shrubs for appearance and safety. Trees that are regularly trimmed and pruned look better. This can increase the value and enhance the appearance of your property. For example houses with good looking foliage out front are often easier to sale or rent.

There are safety reasons for trimming of trees as well, limbs can grow into power lines and buildings. They should definitely cut before this happens. If limbs are not trimmed back you can end up paying thousands of dollars for repairs. If the limbs on your trees grow into a neighbor’s building or the power line you could be liable for the damages.

It is best to have your trees pruned and trimmed by a professional service. Such a service can do the job safely, effectively and quickly. Pruning can be very dangerous especially to those who are inexperienced at it. It can also cause damage that you would have to pay for, for example if the limbs you cut fell on your neighbor’s car, he could sue you.

Something else that people may not realize is that pruning limbs at the wrong time of the year can spread tree-killing funguses and insects. Obviously you do not want to do that.

What is Stump Grinding?

A stump grinder is a special machine that literally turns stumps into sawdust. Such a device can get rid of a stump without tearing up your yard or damaging your lawn or gardens. It can completely and totally get rid of a stump so you can plant a new tree, put in a garden or do some building.

Stump grinding can get property ready for building and get rid of unsightly stumps that are in your way. It has to be done by professional services but it is cheaper, safer and less destructive than traditional alternatives such as bulldozers and dynamite.

Like trimming, stump grinding should be done by the pros because stumps from dead trees need to be removed completely. Such stumps often contain fungal disease and insect pests that can spread to the rest of your trees or shrubs and kill them.

Watering Your Trees

The ongoing drought in many parts of the country - obviously has many homeowners worried about the health of their trees. Quite a few people are wondering when and how they should be watering trees. Unfortunately a lot of home and property owners do not know how to water trees. Simply placing a sprinkler near trees or spraying a tree down with a hose will not necessarily water it. These methods will not work with trees because most trees get water through the roots. Water sprayed on the trunk or the surface of the ground may not reach the roots. Therefore you will have to water the tree through the roots. Fortunately there are a number of good methods of doing this. Watering a tree through the roots makes a lot of sense because you will actually use less water. The easiest method of watering a tree is ground soaking. This can be done by soaking the ground with water. A good way of doing this is to lay a hose right next to the tree and let water run out. You will have to leave the hose there for around 30 minutes to get the water to reach the roots. A variation on ground soaking is to use a sprinkler to soak the ground. If you use a sprinkler you should use a small one that covers the only area immediately around the tree. There are special tree sprinkles available from hardware stores for this purpose. Tree sprinklers can be attached to buried-sprinkler systems as well. In some cases it can be possible to use water diverted from an irrigation ditch for soaking. If you can simply let the ditch water run over the ground around the base of the tree. Another popular water conserving method of watering trees is to drip stakes. A drip stake is a metal or plastic stake that you drive into the ground at the base of the tree. Once the stake is in the ground a hose is attached to provide water. This method takes the water right to the roots so they are the most efficient method of tree watering. Deep drip stakes can be purchased from hardware and other stores and online for a fairly low price.

When to Water Trees Always water your trees when you notice that the ground has dried out. If the ground on your property becomes very hard it might be a good idea to water trees. You should also consider watering trees if it has not rained in your location for more than a month. All trees will need water but leafy species like Aspens and willows will need more. You should try watering because trees can die fairly quickly if there is no water in the ground. The last you will want is to pay for tree removal for your favorite poplars or spruce. If there has been drought in your area, it would be a good idea to have a professional tree service take a look at your property. The experts at such a service can tell you what care your trees need and takes the steps necessary to keep them alive. They can also tell you when and how you should be watering your trees.